lake herrington guide

[bkgooch]

does any one know anyone who crappie guides on herrington?should be a good lake for crappie,my dad and i would love to catch some.ANY HELP would be great.thanks

[Tube man]

I don't know any guides on Herrington but I used to live there in chimney rock subdivison and if you are going crappie fishing I, I would fish up around Kings Mill. After the last ice storm we had, trees are hanging off the banks into the water. The water warms quicker up in that area and the fish seem to bite there sooner.I usually catch big black crappie close to structure in deep water. You might not think you can catch anything next to the bluffs but that is the best place to start, especially if there's cover there.I would advise getting in close to the bank and casting parallel, up and down the bluffs. I use a 1/16 oz. weedless chartreuse/black tube jig for casting and I sometimes vertical jig using minnows or a 1/16 oz. popeye with a wax worm. Right now after this rain, the water up there will probably be muddy. If you are going soon, you might try down around Gwinn Island and Dunns' Island. The water might not be too bad there. This past fall, I sunk some "crappie condos" up around Kings Mill, in close to the bluffs. About a mile down from Kings Mill, you will find some boat houses. Across from those is where I sunk the condos. Herrington is a little hard to fish for crappie but it has a good population of good fish. Most of the time you will only catch a couple in one spot. The key is to keep moving. Out on the main lake, you can catch fish in pockets that have limbs and such. Usually thes pockets are full of debris and they hold fish. Another place you can try is behind Gwinns Island. I've caught a lot of fish there. If you're using minnows, I would try drifting out from the steep bluffs fishing about 15-20 ft. deep. You might now have much confidence in fishing down those bluffs, but believe me, there are some good fish there. Hope you have good luck and let me know how you do...Thumbs Up

[bkgooch]

thanks tube man,when u said behind gwinns island do u mean the creek that runs up and around the marina and splits off ,one branch runs almost back around to the road?

[CrappiePappy]

... Gwinn Island Marina is located on the main lake. Go about 0.3mi up the lake and there's a creek mouth (other end of the island) .... go in there and bare off to your right when the creek splits, and you'll be looking at the road that runs from behind the Marina onto the island. Along the riprap of that "road" section, there's usually alot of brush & floating debris that gets pushed back in there. I've fished in there, before, and caught some from around the brush & logs ... and even from some of the standing trees that you pass by, as you make the right hand turn around the backside of the island. Don't pass up any kind of wood cover along the bank, especially if it looks to have been there for awhile.
FYI ... just to clarify -- when I say "up the lake" ... I mean towards the headwaters, not towards the dam. Thumbs Up

Though I have fished the lake since I was a kid ... I mostly fished around the Red Gate Creek & McKetchney Branch area, back then. Also fished alot, in later years, around the Kennedy Bridge area ... mostly in the small pockets & creeks that run off the main lake between Kamp Kennedy Marina & Hideaway Cove. When the lake level is right, and brush/logs get hung up in these pockets, the Crappie will hang around those.

Herrington Lake is basically a 30+ mile long "river", dammed up on the North end, that flows in a SSE to NNW direction. Map > Herrington Lake, KY

As Tube Man has said ... it's not an easy lake to fish for Crappie, but they're there & in good numbers & size. I have caught some in the 2lb size range, from there, years ago ... so I see no reason why there shouldn't still be some Slabs still roaming around. But, remember ... there is no size limit, and the creel limit is 30/person/day.

You might also want to scroll down to the bottom of your screen, while reading this thread, and check out the "Similar Threads" links ... you might get some more insight into this lake.

... luck2ya

... cp

[crappiemax]

I got to say Tube Man, that is a great report. Fantastic way to help someone out.

[Tube man]

That whole creek that runs back behind Gwinns Island is good at certain times. One day I was fishing the road that connects the" Island" and I limited out without moving the boat 20 ft.It was in early May and these fish were all black crappie. They weren't huge fish but good solid fish. Like crappiepappy said, fish any stick ups and any debris you come across. You can drift fish back behind the "Island" also, but I usually use 1/16 oz. tube jigs while casting. If you find the fish, you can catch em' on minnows or jigs, it's just your preference. If you go in there and don't connect, don't stay all day in there looking for them. Try the main lake pockets or head up toward Kings Mill. I have found the Kings Mill area the best when the water is right. The worst thing about the area up at kings mill is usually the rain in the spring gets the water up and muddy. There's also a creek on the back side of Dunns Isalnd that has a boat dock in it. This creek is also a good area to try. Good luckThumbs Up

[Tube man]

BKgooch, If you really want to get to know Herrington lake, You and your Dad should go down in late fall and just ride around from Kings Mill down to Gwinns Isalnd. Maybe take a camera with you to take pictures of all the stuff under the water. You will be amazed at how much stuff is under there, especially since the ice storm a few years back. If you don't take pictures, you will probably not be able to find the stuff in the spring, after the water comes up.Usually each year I try to make at least one trip down to check out all the stuff....Thumbs Up

[bkgooch]

this info is a big help.we will give this a try as soon as the weather allows.thank you very much tube andcrappiepappy thanks a lot